‘True hero’: Durham school to celebrate driver who saved children from bus fire

Durham school officials will celebrate a driver Tuesday afternoon they say saved nearly two dozen children from injury Friday when a school bus erupted in flames.

The Durham Fire Department responded around 2 p.m. to a large vehicle fire near the intersection of American Drive and White Pine Drive.

The first arriving unit found the bus immersed in smoke and flames.

The bus was carrying 23 students from Brogden Middle School, but they and the driver, Deona Washington, were all able to get off the bus without injury.

‘A true hero,’ school principal says

“Ms. Washington is a true hero,” Brogden Principal Anthony White said in a news release Monday.

“Her instincts and quick actions saved the lives of our students,” he said. “We are extremely grateful that she is part of the Brogden family.”

The school will honor Washington from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday in front of the school at 1001 Leon St.

Fire under investigation

The department responded to Friday’s incident with 11 firefighters, who got the fire under control in about 15 minutes, the release stated. The bus sustained heavy damage.

The Durham County Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the fire.

Work stoppages forced the cancellation of school twice this month — and a third day at certain schools — when transportation support staff called out to protest an ongoing labor dispute.

Support staff inspect buses daily before they go out, but schools spokesperson Crystal Roberts said the bus that caught fire was inspected that day.

“All buses that transport students are inspected every day, and this was no exception,” she said.

This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 2:52 PM.